Re: Is the stable/unstable split broken?
Brian May writes:
> >>>>> "Russell" == Russell Nelson <nelson@crynwr.com> writes:
>
> Russell> I propose that Debian eliminate the concept of the stable
> Russell> vs unstable distributions, and instead have a
> Russell> meta-package called "stable". If I say "apt-get upgrade
> Russell> stable", that upgrades me to the latest version of
> Russell> stable, which of course also fetches all the packages it
> Russell> depends on.
>
> If I understand correctly, you want to be able to:
>
> apt-get install stable (to install stable)
> apt-get install xyz (to install the latest unstable version of xyz)
>
> the second operation would automatically remove stable - not good...
No, because stable specifies all its dependencies in terms of ">=x.y".
For people who want the stable distribution, this always works,
because they never install anything that stable doesn't specify. So,
they *always* have exactly what's specified in stable.
If the latest unstable version of xyz required a package which
conflicted with something from stable, and many packages required that
something, THEN I might have a problem. But at least I'd know about
it.
Obviously this requires care with the dependcies. But Debian
*already* requires careful specification of dependencies. If the
dependencies are so good, why aren't we *really* using them?
> Also, what happens if I were to type in:
>
> apt-get upgrade
>
> would that automatically replace all packages on my mostly stable
> system with unstable packages?
No, "apt-get upgrade" is part of the concept that goes away. You'd
have to say "apt-get upgrade stable".
> Have you looked at the new features in the new version of apt (CVS
> version, or has that been released now?). They might already address
> the problems you want to fix.
I doubt it. It doesn't change the stable/unstable split, does it?
--
-russ nelson <sig@russnelson.com> http://russnelson.com
Crynwr sells support for free software | PGPok | "This is Unix...
521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | Stop acting so helpless."
Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | --Daniel J. Bernstein
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